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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Full protection of personal, property rights must be provided

Belgrade, 11 February 2011

Deputy Prime Minister Jovan Krkobabic spoke today with special advisor to the UNHCR High Commissioner for Refugees Anne Willem Bijleveld about open issues in the resolution of the long-lasting refugee crisis in the Western Balkans.

Anne Willem Bijleveld, left, and Jovan Krkobabic

Krkobabic and Bijleveld agreed that there is good will of four countries – Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia to resolve open issues in a constructive way, and one of the manners to do so is the donors’ conference scheduled to be held in June this year.

Krkobabic underlined that all issues must be resolved in line with the platform of the Serbian government.

Krkobabic pointed to the firm stance of the Serbian government to guarantee all personal and property rights to those who are endangered in Serbia in any way, if such cases exist, but he underlined that the same criteria must be applied in the neighbouring countries.

On the joint path to the EU, he said, all standards should be met, and they entail full protection of personal and property rights which are currently denied to the numerous refugee population primarily in Croatia.

He noted that at the ministerial conference in Belgrade in March 2010, the outstanding issues were clearly indentified and the ways for their resolution.

The first step towards a successful resolution is to obtain accurate data on what rights are denied to refugees and the exiled - from housing rights to overdue pensions, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister concluded.